RATES OF TIDAL SEDIMENTATION FROM RECORDS OF INDUSTRIAL-POLLUTION ANDENVIRONMENTAL MAGNETISM - THE TEES ESTUARY, NORTHEAST ENGLAND

The geochemical and magnetic properties of four sediment cores from Gr eatham Creek in the Tees estuary, north-east England, provide a record of industrial pollution in the intertidal zone. The peak magnetic con centrations, as interpreted from down-core profiles of chi, SIRM, chi( ARM), and Soft magnetisation, provide a rapid and non-destructive prox y for geochemical analyses. In the absence of variation in grain size or post-depositional migration of sediment pollution, differences in t he depth of synchronous peak metal and magnetic concentrations between cores can be attributed to the period and frequency of tidal inundati on and, hence, accretion rate. Peak Pb and Zn concentrations can be re lated to the maximum influx from mining activity in the Tees catchment c. AD 1880 or to industrial activity within the Tees estuary during t he 20th Century. The former provides rates of tidal sedimentation of a pproximately 1, 2, 3 and c. 10 mm yr(-1) for the upper saltmarsh, the lower saltmarsh, the mudflats and a tidal sandflat, respectively, whil st the latter gives corresponding accretion rates of 4, 10, 12 and c. 25 mm yr(-1).